Chapter 53 - Local Monster Girl Sues Sperm Donor 'Florida Man' for Child Support; He Pays with Bullets
West of Terra City, an army of 2,000 monster girls stood attention, watching the aftermath of the surprise siege. Unlike the raiding team, this force consisted of demi-beast women—female warriors with snake scales, slit eyes, and humanoid physiques. They wore light clothes made of tree leaves and vines, resembling real barbarians.
Sitting on a wooden throne palanquin was a mature pink-haired woman with a voluptuous build, wearing only loincloth bikinis and a flower tiara. Her body and half of her face were covered in green snake scales, making her appearance less obscene. With her otherworldly pretty face and sharp eyes, her female subordinates couldn't help but fall for her charm. This was the Queen of Lamia, Zhu Qi, but she always called herself Diana for unknown reasons.
While observing the fallen city, a pink Lamia and her followers approached. They lowered their heads and reported to their master.
"Mother, I have returned. As you envisioned, Terra City is ours."
Diana didn't bother looking at her child. To her, the pink-haired Lamia was just another subordinate born from one of her eggs. She gave her child a new order.
"We've secured enough men to breed. We'll head back to the Black Forest."
Zhu Xin Ci deeply frowned as this was not part of their initial plan. Before attacking the city, everyone had agreed to claim the river south of Terra City as well. Yet, the queen went back on her word. She looked up and argued.
"Mother, didn't we agree to take the river south of this city?"
Diana finally looked at Zhu Xin Ci. She warned the child, "Overextending our troops will only waste our manpower and time. We've secured what we need. It's time to withdraw before a bunch of sixth-circle mages and six-star knights show up."
Zhu Xin Ci was not satisfied with the answer. She demanded a clearer explanation, "Mother, the city is already ours. We can use the walls and the defenses. Let's make this place our new home!"
"I guess I should have expected this much from a lowly creature of this world." Diana smacked her lips.
Zhu Xin Ci was taken aback by the random insult, "What did you say, mother?!"
"If you want me to clarify, I'll say it for you. You're just an idiot snake."
Zhu Xin Ci glared at her mother. Her killing intent soared, but she didn't dare voice her anger. She lowered her head, suppressing her grudge and frustration.
"Look, little snake. If we occupy this city, we'll be sitting ducks, waiting for the magi to bombard us with their grand spells. But if we take what we need and return to the Black Forest, no archmage or magus will dare to enter our territory since they are cowards by nature. When we need anything from the humans again, we march out like this and strike them when they least expect it."
"…"
"Do you get it, stupid snake?"
"…Yes, mother."
Zhu Xin Ci was still against the idea but didn't dare to object. Among the Lamias, Diana was recognized as the strongest being, rivaling the top magi. Even star knights were incomparable to her. Diana was not just a Lamia Queen but a Demon Queen!
"I have two matters to report," Zhu Xin Ci didn't forget to mention Felix's building and the seed she had collected from him. She explained everything.
…
Listening to Zhu Xin Ci, Diana narrowed her eyes. An angry spark and concern glittered in her crimson irises. The queen asked her daughter, "Aside from the archmage building, are you sure that the alpha man you encountered in the forest is truly dead?"
Zhu Xin Ci affirmed, "I saw him getting bitten by a defected Lamia child. He was burnt alive."
"Where is his corpse?"
"We left it in the forest."
Diana furrowed her brows and glanced to her side, staring at empty air. She waved her fingers and drew something that Zhu Xin Ci couldn't see. But to Diana, she was looking at a floating semi-transparent blue screen. After fiddling with the mysterious invisible screen, Diana deeply sighed, "You messed up. That man is still alive. And do you know what's worse? He has a deity's providence."
"Deity's Providence?" Zhu Xin Ci didn't understand what her mother meant.
"Transmigrators, reincarnators, regressors, time travelers, and Heaven's favorite children, and people from other worlds," Diana elaborated. "You can say that they're main characters of this planet. The Demon God has warned me about this century's influx of otherworlders who possess deity's providences. To be exact, there are currently 12 of them in this world, not including me. We all have similar characteristics, you see."
Diana snapped her fingers. Suddenly, a massive stone tablet rose from the ground in front of Zhu Xin Ci. On its surface, a long text in the local language described the traits of otherworlders.
…
Name: Xavior Faunir
Tier: Heavenly Fate
Origin: Universe Number 7, Planet Earth, United States, Ohio
Title: Alchemist Saint
Age: 1,949
Specialties: Resource Exchange System, Leveling System, Instant Transmutation, Multi-Casting
…
Name: Thomas Lee
Tier: Sky Fate
Origin: Universe Number 16, Planet Earth, Australia, Melbourne
Title: Spider Lord
Age: 1,672
Specialties: Spider Instinct, Evolution System
…
Name: Shin Tanaka
Tier: Earth Fate
Origin: Universe Number 45, Planet Earth, Japan, Saitama
Title: Harem Lord
Age: 752
Specialties: Eroge System
…
The list went on. Instead of showing only 12 names of otherworlders that Diana mentioned, the stone plate listed a total of 108 people with similar origins. Their tiers were categorized into three groups: Earth Fate, Sky Fate, and Heavenly Fate.
Zhu Xin Ci was curious about the meaning behind these tiers. She skimmed through the names and their abilities, searching for a notable difference. When she reached the bottom of the list, a few names piqued her interest.
…
Name: Zhu 'Diana' Qi
Tier: Heavenly Fate
Origin: Universe Number 2, Planet Divine Nest, Mao Empire, Zhu Qiao City
Title: Lamia Queen
Age: 2,236
Specialties: Observer System, Evolution System, All-Rounder Magic, Protagonist Hunting System
…
Zhu Xin Ci was shocked to see her mother's name and brief information on the stone plate.
"Mother... Your name..." Zhu Xin Ci pointed at the stone plate.
Diana scoffed and revealed a secret that stunned everyone, especially Zhu Xin Ci. "Like them, I am also one of those reincarnators. I was once an immortal in my previous life, but my stupid father sent me here to hunt some... protagonists."
"Protagonists?"
"The people on the stone plate, stupid snake. Those are the protagonists, the main characters of this world. I'm sure you already met one of them, the guy you assumed dead."
"W-What?!"
Diana sighed deeply and clapped her hands. Another stone plate emerged from the ground, serving as a screen that displayed the events Zhu Xin Ci had witnessed.
It showed Zhu Xin Ci's point of view when she encountered Felix, replaying their interaction like a video. When Zhu Xin Ci began giving Felix a head, everyone but Diana smirked and giggled. However, Diana stopped the video when Felix demanded custody of a defected Lamia.
"That's the second mistake you made."
"...What did I do, mother?" Zhu Xin Ci was confused.
"Every descendant of the Zhu Clan born with disabilities or mutations is a variant of Lamia. That caged child had the scales of a double-head dragon whose seeds I extracted. She has the blood of a hydra variant, you fool."
"What's a hydra?" Zhu Xin Ci had never heard of it.
Diana shook her head, giving up on explaining every detail. She changed the subject. "Do you still have that man's seeds?"
Zhu Xin Ci's expression brightened. She gestured to her subordinates to bring bowls of Felix's fluid over. She then bragged about her feat. "Yes, that alpha's seeds are with me."
"Well, at least you're not completely useless," Diana smirked and ordered Zhu Xin Ci. "Give those to me. I'll personally carry that man's offsprings."
"…WHAT?!"
Zhu Xin Ci was taken aback. It had been decades since her mother volunteered to breed a new child, as she had been busy governing thousands of Lamias.
Meanwhile, Diana glanced at the information block of the seed owner. The details matched the intel on her system screen.
...
Name: Felix Ariel
Tier: Heavenly Fate
Origin: Universe Number 420, Planet Earth, United States, Florida
Title: Florida Man
Age: 18
Specialties: Florida Man System, Gun Specialist, Multi-Element Affinity, Phoenix Bloodline
...
Diana licked her lips. The bloodline part was something she couldn't overlook. After ordering Zhu Xin Ci to pass over the bowls of seeds, which was protected by bubble barriers that preserved the fluid, Diana issued the command.
"We'll withdraw from the city! Make haste! Return to Black Forest before those pesky magi and star knights show up—"
*POP*
A muffled pop sound from the north interrupted Diana mid-sentence. Although the sound was almost silent, she heard it and immediately looked north. Her crimson iris glowed, scanning the darkness. A silhouette of a man hiding in a pine tree entered her view.
Diana smacked her lips. She glanced at the three floating system screens, consulting with her helper.
'Goddess Mother, should I initiate the hunt? A protagonist has meddled with my affairs.'
On the screen, a pink-haired woman whose face resembled Diana was crossing her arms, frowning and pursing her lips in frustration.
She was Zhu Qiao, the goddess of Lamias and many monsters. She was also a supporter for Zhu Xin Ci's system.
'I can easily kill him right now, though.'
'Calamity?! Is he that dangerous?!'
Diana squinted, unable to comprehend why her ancestor, Zhu Qiao, sounded panicked. Still, as she was indeed preoccupied with a conflict with another strong existence, she could not afford to provoke a youngster with monstrous backings.
Unfortunately, Diana was stubborn regarding reproduction and evolution. She refused to throw the seeds away. While retreating with her soldiers, she concealed the seed bowls and coated them with light magic, prolonging the lifespan of the living organisms in the fluid.
.
.
.
Meanwhile, Felix loaded a mana piercing shell into a Springfield rifle and fixed a scope on it. Targeting a patrolling group in front of the north wall, he aimed at a captain of the Lamias, who had a snake head and a lower body of a woman. Pulling the trigger, the rifle let out a weird *POP* sound instead of a loud bang. His right shoulder flinched as the rifle's feedback exceeded his expectations.
At the end of Felix's scope, the snake-head woman dropped. Black blood gushed out of the wound in her head.
She's dead.
Felix smirked, confident that he should be able to kill most of the Lamias and recapturing the city by himself. He glanced at the small note, which he had gotten from the quest.
It was a hint of a the emergency beacon. It told which command could bring a surprise gift for these perverted monsters. All he had to do was to press four buttons, throw the beacon at the target, and keep the distance.
The command was simple: UP, RIGHT, DOWN, UP